A New Ally
by Madness-Kun
Summary: The team saves a girl's life. To repay them she decides to work for SPR, specializing in both Technology and Sensing Spirits. But there's something following her. Her parents suicide and that she shouldn't ever open that one door next to her room. There will be sequels for the story. John x OC, sorry for constant edit. Masako bashing included.
1. Chapter 1

**June, Friday.**

The SPR team arrives at the park for another day on the current case. This case involved a spirit that follows young men and teases them by poking or tugging their hair playfully. This was day 3 of the investigation, and they were almost finished. All they had to do now was find the spirit and send her on her way to crossing over. Sounds easy enough. The group walks through the park, using the boys as bait to lure out the spirit. For about half an hour nothing happens, but then John feels a cold finger tap his back.

He whips around. "I just got poked!" He calls, Naru and Lin coming over.

While Naru dealt with the ghost, Mai and Monk combed the Park to enjoy the scenery. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the plants looked livelier than ever. This park was truly beautiful in the summer.

"It's all so pretty." Mai says with a smile.

"Yeah it is." Monk agrees.

So peaceful, so pretty. These kinds of days should last forever. In a matter of minutes the spirit was sent on her way and everyone enjoys a leisurely stroll together in nature. They idly chat among themselves about nothing, truly enjoying the time they shared in these kinds of days.

But in an instant, the 'peace' and 'joy' went away. It sort of shattered, shall we say. It's so interesting how fast moods can change in certain situations. One minute you're happy and don't have a care in the world, the next thing you know you could be crying on your knees. It's very unpredictable, unless you're Naru. But there's only one Naru, so that's a slim chance. From smiling to crying and laughing to screaming in anger, you often wonder what it means to live. Everything you think you know about people could be challenged in a matter of seconds.

This is one of those moments.

As the team approaches a small area of bushes and flowers a tall man passes by them, wearing a long trench coat and a big hat to hide his face. The pockets are torn on the coat, showing how old it is. He seems to be in a hurry. The man accidently bumps past Monk, then begins to speed walk away. Monk looks down to where he had heard a small sound. The man had dropped what appeared to be a pocket knife. Monk picks it up, curiosity tugging at him. He flicks the blade out of the handle, then instantly drops the weapon.

Blood. The blade was covered in blood.

The red liquid drips from the handle into the soft earth like spilled wine.

"What the...?" He asks no one while wiping his hands on his pants.

Mai's eyes widen like saucers. In some sort of secret code they all span out to search for anyone who might have been injured. While the group franticly look around the knife stays open on the ground, blade gleaming in the hot sun and shining in all matter of directions. For a good 20 minutes the search turns up empty. Just when they were about to give up and forget this even ever happened, John checks behind one set of bushes.

Little did he know this little 'discovery' would not have existed any longer if he had given up right then.

Lying at an angle where her body is concealed by the shrubs is a teenage girl, roughly 15 years of age. She was unconscious and laying on her back. This girl has short black hair with dark, navy blue dyed bangs that cover her left eye. She was wearing a black tank-top over dark blue shirt, the same shade as her bangs. She also wore a denim blue skirt which is again the same shade, black shorts underneath it, and on her feet were white tennis shoes worn out and falling apart. On her arms were two half-sleeves, one black and one again navy blue like her hair. Around her neck were silver dog tags.

Her body is littered with stab wounds, bleeding fresh blood to stain the grass. John calls to the others and checks her vitals. He hoped to god she was still alive. Luckily, like music to his fingers, he could detect her pulse.

"She's alive, but needs an ambulance." He reports.

Everything after that seemed to go by in slow motion. The sirens blaring from a few blocks away and steadily getting closer, the ambulance speeding to a stop, the paramedics rushing out, and the girl being loaded into it before it speeds off to the hospital. Mai just stares.

"That man...the one who passed us...I know he did this."

No one says anything after that, but they're all thinking the same thing. That man, whoever he was, must be found and put to blame for his attempted murder. It's so wrong that anyone would just attack a random girl and do this to her. There's no excuse for anything that vile. That disturbed. That...unforgivable.


	2. Chapter 2

The very next day everyone accept Naru and Lin sat in the hospital waiting room, awaiting permission to visit the girl from the day before. All they could think about was her, being covered in wounds and left to die. A report on the news channel had given them a boost through the ordeal. Apparently the man that passed them had been arrested for car theft and confessed to attempted murder. He now faced a life sentence in prison for the killings of 2 other teenage victims that he pleaded guilty to. Justice was served for the girl, and so the group wanted to check on her. After all, they were worried sick all night.

Soon a doctor approaches them, clipboard in hand and a pencil tucked behind his ear. "You may see her now."

He led them to her room, opening the door and leaving to tend to other patients. The girl was lying down comfortably, back of her left hand placed on her forehead in both confusion and drowsiness. She notices them and glances over. Her eyes are now visible, having been closed before. They were beyond beautiful. A purple color that shadows from the top and works down into a brighter shade. They sparkle with exhaustion.

"Oh...Hello there..." She has a frail and young voice, like it would shatter if you managed to touch it the wrong way.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" Mai asks, smiling in her sweet manner.

"I've been better..." The girl replies with an innocent smile of her own. "Pardon me...but I don't believe we've met..." She glances at each unfamiliar face.

"Yeah, we haven't met before. My name is Mai. This is Takigawa, John, Masako, and Ayako." Mai motions to each of them. The girl sort of moans. She must still be in pain. Well of course she is; she got stabbed like 47 times.

"Nice to meet you all..." She smiles a bit more.

"What's your name?" John asks, his funny accent making her giggle slightly.

"Atsei...Atsei Lawrence."

Monk stuffs his hands into his pockets, smiling also. "That's a cool name. Japanese and American."

Atsei nods once. "My mother was American, my father was Japanese." Something about the way her smile faded when she said 'was' makes Mai frown.

"Are they...?"

Atsei nods again. "It's been 12 years now. They both died in our home...They committed suicide." She sadly frowns.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..." Mai apologizes. Monk frowns too.

"It's alright; I'm used to it..." Atsei admits quietly, face tinting a little red.

The time went by fast. Before they knew it the sun was setting and visiting hours were drawing to an end. "Please...come back to see me soon..." Atsei requests before they decided to leave.

"Of course, we'll see you whenever we can. You can count on us." Mai assures her. Atsei smiles before slipping off to sleep.

**Saturday.**

This time when they went to visit Atsei, the group somehow convinced Naru to come with them. As they walked toward the hospital Mai, Monk, and John filled Naru in about how cool Atsei is.

"She can even sense spirits, or so she claims." Mai adds in, hoping to spark Naru's interest.

"Is that right?" He asks, although it's not clear if he really cares.

"Yeah, I don't think she was lying." John chimes in. After some more walking they came to Atsei's room.

Mai knocks three times, hearing the frail voice of her new friend.

"Come in."

The group walks into the small room, finding places to stand and sit.

"Hey Atsei. How are you doing?" Monk asks, sitting on the cot next to hers.

"I feel a lot better." She sits up and leans against the head board, showing her chest, arms, and stomach wrapped in tight bandages. How many times was she stabbed? How deep were the wounds? How long until she can leave? These questions quietly hung in the air of the quiet room.

"We brought our boss to meet you Atsei." Mai says, motioning to Naru.

"My name is Kazuya Shibuya." He says bluntly.

"Nice to meet you, Kazuya."

Silence hung around them after she said that. It was awkward, anti-social. Does he always have that kind of an affect on people?

"I was told you can sense spirits." He finally speaks up again. Oh, so he really was interested? Mai wrinkles her nose, wishing he would have said something sooner.

"Yeah, I can." She replies semi-casually. At first he's skeptical. Maybe she was just trying to get attention, but there's a chance that she's telling the truth and really can see dead souls. Either way, she was different than a normal teenage girl. Not that he cared, of course. Nope. Didn't care one little bit. He does steal a glance at Mai though. Mai was more different, that he would admit to if asked.

Not that anyone would ask him, of course.


	3. Chapter 3

**Friday.**

Atsei ignores the doctor's warnings and advice as she runs out of the Hospital and into the fresh air. "Finally, I'm free!" She thought they'd never let her go. It gets really lonely being cooped up in a hospital room for so long. She twirls in the parking lot of the medical center before running off towards her house. Atsei lived in the house she had woken up in twelve years ago. After some hard work she had managed to get it livable again.

By 'hard work' I mean cleaning out the rubble from the ceiling, somehow arranging a funeral for her parents, and re-building the broken walls. It was really hard and took a while, but it was all worth it. She had a roommate but he was barely ever around. Her roommate is a boy her age that she had met after her parents died. His name is Cap, short for Capricorn.

As she makes her way home she notices the group that had visited her in the hospital. They were going into a broken-down apartment complex. Curiosity tugs at the teen. She soon found herself approaching the building and her friends. The inside is even more broken then the out. The walls were crumbling, the ceiling was losing pieces, and the ground was littered with rubble.

The second she takes her 5th step into the building she gets a cold wave of nausea. Spirits. There were numerous spirits in this place. At least five, all adults. They were screaming that the ceiling was coming down. That must be how they died. She swallows down the bile in the back of her throat. "Ugh…" She shakes her head and takes another step.

It takes a little while, but she manages to find the room that they were in. Her face lights up. The room was full of computers, cameras, and microphones. This was close to heaven for her. Mai finishes setting up a camera nearby but doesn't seem to notice Atsei. "Wow…." Atsei whispers. Mai yelps in surprise and jumps. "A-Atsei? What are you doing here?"

Naru and Lin, as well as Monk and John are there too. They all turn their attention to her. "I was on my way home and saw you guys come in here, so I wanted to see what you were doing." She shivers. "This place is beyond cool, but so creepy. I can sense five spirits already." That attracts more of Naru's attention. "You say there are five here? Can you tell where they are?"

She nods. "I sense them above us. Maybe 3 floors. They died when the roof came down, I'm pretty sure." The room is silent for a minute. Soon Masako and Ayako return from scouting for spirits. Upon seeing Atsei, Masako covers her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. "What is she doing here?" Atsei turns around, frowning. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I was…I was just leaving."

Before anyone can stop her Atsei turn of her heel and hurries out of the building. "Why does she act like she hates me?" Atsei wonders out loud, not caring if they hear. All she wanted was to go home. Home to the same cold, nauseous feeling as this place. The feeling coming from the room next to hers. The room…where her parents shot themselves in the heart.


	4. Chapter 4

Upon returning home Atsei was greeted by Cap himself at the door. Cap is a tall boy and a handsome one at that. His long brown hair and strong reddish-brown eyes were enough to drive a girl insane. But not Atsei. Personally, she was more into the shorter boys. "Hey Cap!" She greets him. "Hi Atsei. I heard you ended up in the hospital. That must have been rough." She shrugs. "I suppose, but hey. Who hasn't been stabbed a total of 39 times, right?" They laugh. "Come on inside, I made some coffee." He motions her in. She smiles and nods.

She had met Cap a long time ago on a rainy night in fall. He was alone in an alley, slowly freezing to death. Atsei had just so happened to have been passing by and offered for him to liv with her. They've been friends ever since. He treats her like a sister, as she treats him like a brother. "This coffee is awesome, as always." She compliments while taking a long, steady sip of coffee. "Thanks." The refreshing taste and heat made her feel much better. "Anything interesting happen today?" He asks, taking a seat across from her on the couch.

Atsei explains everything that happened from leaving the hospital to the walk home. Her explanation leaves out no information and only spans a time length of 10 minutes. "Sounds like that Masako girl needs to get that pole out of her-" Atsei jumps up and gets a huge wave of nausea. (Ha-ha that was for you Gost44.) She wraps her arms round her stomach and leans forward, eyes shut and panting for breath.

Cap has seen this many times from her. First she feels ill, then the windows start to shake, and finally you can hear gunshots from the locked door next to her room. As if on cue the windows in all of the rooms began to rattle, making shaky sounds that could intimidate a person who has never heard it before.

"Here, lay down." Cap says, helping her to the sofa and placing a pillow behind her head. Preparing for what comes next, she tries not to flinch when the loud gunshots rang through the house. Tears pricked in her eyes but she just wipes them away. "It's alright Atsei." He comforts her. She just sighs and looks to the side, towards the room.

"I want to open the door…" She whispers. "No, don't do that." He says sternly. "If you open that door, I don't think you'll ever forget whatever is inside." He rests a hand on her head. "You're right." Soon the feeling does down and she's able to stand again. The rest of the day is quiet. As Atsei lies in bed that night she wonders if she'll ever run into Mai and her friends again.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again." She whispers to the ceiling before falling asleep.

**Thursday.**

Atsei pulls on a dark green sweater and hurries out of the house. Cap had already left for work an hour ago, so she was on her way to the park for a jog. She does this every Thursday, just like clockwork. The breeze felt good on her pale skin as she jogs at a steady pace. "I wonder how Mai and her friends are doing in that apartment complex."

She thinks about it. "I hope the spirits didn't give them any trouble." She smiles a little. It's been a long time since she's felt like she had friends, other than Capricorn. A couple of familiar voices from the side attract her attention. "Hey, Atsei!"


	5. Chapter 5

The SPR team wave and smile at Atsei, everyone accept Naru and Lin. "Oh, hi guys." She greets them, jogging over and wiping her forehead. "You were right Atsei! There were five spirits, all adults who died when the ceiling came down! It's incredible; no one has been that accurate before!" Mai says with excitement. Atsei's face lights up.

"Really? I'm glad I could help!" She answers happily. "You're really great at sensing spirits, mate." John chimes in. Atsei finds herself studying his face. His curly blonde hair, his deep blue eyes…She shakes her head to snap out of it. "Thanks." A light blush spreads across her features. "Yes, impressive." Naru says bluntly, his eyes closed and arms crossed.

Atsei giggles once. It felt so good to have someone compliment her. She glances at Masako, who is glaring back with her mouth covered by her sleeve. "Humph." Atsei frowns. "Hey, you." She steps toward Masako. "You should get that pole out of your ass. It might help you to realize that your pride gets in the way." Atsei says sternly yet with a deep frown, like she was about to cry.

The group says nothing. It's like there in shock. Someone other than Mai had schooled Masako. Mai stands beside Atsei, glaring at Masako. "I agree. You shouldn't be so stuck-up." Atsei stares at Mai and smiles a little bit. Someone…agreed with her. Maybe this is what it's like to actually have friends.

Masako huffs again. Her face is solemn, like she didn't care. How could she be so calm, so collected, so freaking rude?! The world may never know. "Atsei, are you currently employed?" Naru asks after the tension dies down a bit. Everyone's eyes focus on him. Was he asking what they thought he was asking? "No, I don't have a job. Why?" Atsei asks, tilting her head cutely and innocently.

"I have a position open if you wanted to work for me. If you don't want to that's fine." She stands there in silence. She'd never really worked before other than fixing up the house. Was she up for it? Hell yes, but would she be able to? Maybe. It would be good for her to finally get out of the house and do something productive with her life.

After all, what job could be better than hunting ghosts? None, that's what. "I would love to work for you Kazuya." John, Monk, and Mai do double-fists in the air and let out a long, happy 'Woo!' Maybe, just maybe, Atsei could find the place she belonged in. A place where she can be accepted, loved, and appreciated. That place is with the Shibuya Psychic Research facility.

"Are you sure?" Naru asks, opening his dark eyes. "I've never been so sure in my life."


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 1.**

Atsei and Mai stand with Naru in front of a beautiful townhouse. It has a tree in the front yard with a rope swing, a circle of rocks around a much bigger one, and a nice tomato garden. "What a nice house." Upon entering Atsei instantly felt something was wrong. She could sense a child's spirit, one who was screaming. It chilled her to the bone. just a few days before a young woman with curly hair and simple clothes, Maria Corson, had hired the SPR team to investigate her house. "It's possessing my son," She had told Naru when she spoke it over with him. "His behavior will completely change randomly. He starts crying and screaming that he's not dead while breaking things. I believe he is being possessed by a ghost." She had told them.

Now they had come to investigate. They are greeted in the living room by Maria, her husband Jacob, and their son Joshua. Jacob has short hair and wears a tee-shirt with jeans. He's a nice man and seems to be a good father. Joshua seems to be about 12 or 13 years old. He has spiky-styled long blonde hair, innocent dark red eyes, a white tank top over his American-flag patterned surfer shorts, and a silver dog tag around his neck. In his hand is a small, tattered, old-looking stuffed cat. It's covering in stitches and colored in each stitches section either black or white. It looks sort of creepy.

Joshua smiles at the unfamiliar visitors and holds out his hand to shake with them. "Hi! I'm Joshua!" The each shake his hand, Mai and Atsei smiling too. He seemed so sweet. Maria sends him outside to help them bring in their equipment, much to his happiness. With his help they were able to get the monitors and microphones set up in no time. "Thanks Joshua." Mai thanks him, stepping down from her perch on a chair. He just holds up two fingers and smiles widely. "I'm gonna go play outside. Wanna come Mai?" He asks. "That sounds fun."

The summer air feels good compared to the cool of the house. Joshua pulls Mai to the middle of the yard and raises his fists in the air. "Let's have a contest! Whoever can do a handstand for the longest wins!" She nods with excitement. "Okay, we start on three. One, two, three!" She counts down. They both bring their arms down and go into handstands. Mai's body begins to rock but she bends her legs and is able to stay up. Joshua keeps one leg straight up and bends the other above his shoulder. After a minute Mai topples over into the soft grass. "I win!"

She laughs. "That was so cool, how did you bend your leg like that? It looks painful." He shakes his head. "Nope, it's fun!" Joshua allows himself to fall over and laughs happily. "How old are you Joshua?" She asks as they lay on their backs and stare at the cloudless sky. "Twelve." He answers. "I'm sixteen." Mai tells him, thinking of another question. "Oh, do you have any siblings?" He nods, holding up two fingers. "I have a big brother and a big sister. They both got married and moved away a long time ago." They chat idly for a small while before Maria calls them in.

They get up to go inside, Joshua leading the way.


	7. Chapter 7

That night Naru brought out the glowing red light to test the method of suggestion. Joshua, Maria, and Jacob sit on the sofa and watch the light glow. They focuses on the light with drooping eyes like they were about to fall sleep. Naru's voice sounded like a slow echo to them, like the wind on a long stretch of road at night. Mai stands by the light switch with Atsei and watches the method closely. _"Focus your eyes on the light." _Naru instructs slowly and somewhat quietly. The Corson family do as they are told, their eyes not moving from the red light.

_"Try to match your breathing to the light. Nice and slow." _Joshua's eyes are barely open. He seemed completely entranced. Once his parents were also deep into the light Naru gives them the suggestion. _"Tonight a vase will move. A small black vase placed on the table in front of you." _After another moment Mai turns on the light and they blink, rubbing their eyes at the sudden change in lighting. Naru turns off the flashing red lamp and picks it up with one hand. In the other was a small black vase. The three of them stare at it with wide eyes. The suggestion worked.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please spent the rest of the day light you would any other." Maria heads to the kitchen to start Dinner while Jacob stretches out on the couch opposite to the one Joshua was sitting on. The younger boy yawns cutely with his eyes closed, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. The suggestion must have made him tired. He gets up and picks up the stuffed cat, which was sitting on the small table beside the staircase. Hugging the cat and retreating upstairs, Atsei noticed Naru was staring at Joshua with cautious eyes. For some reason it made her mad, bur she said nothing of it.

No more then half an hour later a shrill scream from upstairs attracts everyone's attention. It sounded like Joshua. "I'M NOT DEAD! I'M RIGHT HERE! I'M NOT DEAD!" He screams. Naru and Jacob rush upstairs and find Joshua in the hallway, tears streaming down his face and head thrown back while gripping his hair. "Joshua, calm down!" Jacob exclaims, grabbing his son's shoulders. "I'm not dead!" Joshua yells again. Naru watches with slightly wide eyes. He already had suspicions that the culprit was a spirit. Soon Joshua calms down and the strange behavior subsides.

He decides that if the suggestion shows that a spirit is responsible, he'll call in Monk, John, and Ayako to help out. Mai stares at Joshua as he looks around, trying to figure out what he had just did. Atsei waits downstairs with Maria, deciding that a ghost is for sure haunting this house. She hoped that they would be able to solve this case before Joshua's behavior could escalate into something more violent. Naru comes downstairs and exits the house. "I have to go do more research." That's the explanation he gave to them before just leaving.

"Does he do that often?" Atsei asks Mai. She nods, sweat dropping. "He does that so often we just expect it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 2.**

The vase from the day before hadn't moved an inch from the night before. "So the culprit is a spirit." Naru says, studying the vase while keeping his arms crossed. Just as planned he calls in Monk, John, and Ayako to help out with this case. After introductions and a quick rundown of the case so far, they pile around the thermal cameras to see which room is the coolest. Upon inspection they decide on Joshua's bedroom as the source of the poltergeist since it's a considerable amount colder than the rest of the house. Naru also checks the structure of the house.

"The ground is solid and the floors are flat. No sign of subsidence." He places a finger to his lip in thought. "Are you sure the boy isn't behind this?" Ayako asks bluntly, crossing her arms to complete the pose. "The suggestion showed that a human is not responsible for this case. It's the work of a spirit." Naru tells her without looking behind him. She makes a 'humph' sound. Monk snickers but quickly stops. In the microphone positioned in Joshua's room you can hear knocking sounds. The knocking sounded eerie against the static of the camera.

"Naru, the temperature in Joshua's bedroom is dropping rapidly." Lin informs his boss, eyes narrowed. Naru clenches his teeth. "I did extensive research on the previous owners of this house." He says, standing up straight. "Before the Corson family was the Ventura family, who had a son at 10 years old, Matt, who died when the house caught fire. Everyone else was able to get out but the boy burned alive and the house was rebuilt." Naru shares with them. "I believe Matt is haunting Joshua because he's closest to Matt's age when he died and they share very similar families."

As Mai listens to this she settles onto the couch, arms behind her head. "So a little boy named Matt died here..." Her eyelids droop. She yawns. "Maybe I'll have another vision if I fall asleep..." She whispers to herself before drifting off into another horrifying dream about the case at hand.

_Mai awakens in the hallway of a slightly different townhouse, the smell of cigarette smoke tingling her nose disgustingly. She sits up slowly and covers her nose to soften the sickening smell of tobacco. Turning toward the source she sees the shadow of a man with a cigarette in the hall. She reaches to the man, eyes wide as he drops it while it's still lit._

"_No, stop! Don't do that! I don't know why but something bad will happen!" As if on cue the cigarette catches the drapes of the window on fire. The flames rapidly spread through the house like a raging inferno. Mai uses her arms to block her face, and then hears two people shouting franticly. "Matt, where are you?! Matt, please talk to us!" A woman yells. Is that Matt's mother?_

_The shadows of the man and woman flee the house, not hearing a little boy's cries for help as they run for their lives. "I'M NOT DEAD!" The child yells to his fleeing parents. "COME BACK! HELP ME!" Mai scrambles to her feet and throws open the door of a child's bedroom and finds a little boy trapped under a burning bed. "Mom! Dad! HELP ME!" He cries hoarsely, to no avail. Mai wants to reach out to him but someone behind her places their hands on her shoulders. She turns. Sure enough Naru was smiling, handsome as ever._

Mai bolts upright, her heart caught in her throat. That must have been the worst vision yet. Looking around she realized it was dark out and everyone else was asleep. She takes a few deep breaths to calm her speeding heart. Matt had burned alive while his parents ran. He cried and cried to them but they had left him. She frowns, wanting to cry.

"Another vision…" She whispers to herself as she falls back into a restless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 3.**

Atsei listens to Mai as she explains the vision she had last night. "You have visions like that? Talk about helpful for the investigation." Atsei says, running a hand through her black and blue hair. "Naru says the case will be over soon. He's going to cleanse Matt the next time he possesses Joshua." Atsei shares with her friend.

"Already? Talk about a quick case." Mai says with a slight smile. Her narcissistic boss never ceases to amaze her. Atsei stretches her arms over head and shuts her eyes, stifling a yawn. "My first case with you guys was actually pretty interesting." Mai nods, still smiling. "We're glad to have you on the team Atsei. Your skills as a medium are more accurate than Masako's."

That makes the two of them giggle. Being considered better than that stuck-up and Naru obsessed girl makes Atsei feel confident.

**Day 3, Night.**

That night everyone gathered in the living room with Joshua and waited for Matt to possess him so they could cleanse him. At first they waited and talked, but soon the sound of chatting faded into silence. The only sound heard was the ticking of the clock. _Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. _How much time went past? An hour? Half an hour? Ten minutes? It all felt so still, like time wasn't flowing through the 2 hours they waited.

Then it happened. Joshua started screaming and crying like the other time, yelling to an imaginary person. Mai knows who he's talking too. She knows what Matt had felt before his death. Her heart sinks as Naru walks over from his previous spot against the wall, holding up two small wooden dolls in the shape of people. A man and a woman.

"Matt, you're parents are right here. Leave this body and cross over." Naru instructs, tossing the dolls at Joshua while his eyes tracked them. The dolls became the man and woman from Mai's dream, both of them bathed in warm yellow light. A darkened spirit leaps from Joshua's body and is embraced by the two adult illusions.

Joshua looks down at his hands, and then watches the bright light. It was so beautiful to watch the reunion between parents and their child. Soon their glowing figures fade away and the house is still.

**Day 4.**

Joshua helps the team pack up their equipment, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead. "Alright, that's the last one." Monk says as he closes the van door. "Thanks a lot for cleansing that spirit from me." Joshua thanks Naru, eyes sparkly and full of his usual light and happiness. "I was just doing my job." Naru says back bluntly, looking to the side.

Atsei and Mai waved good-bye to the Corson Family, very happy that the case had been closed quickly and without any real problems. "Hey Mai, wanna go and hang out?" Atsei asks her. Mai nods with her bright expression. "That sounds like fun!" Monk and John glance over with sort of sly and childish expressions. "You guys wanna come too?" Mai asks them. They nod and trot over. "How about a game of basketball? There's a court by my house." Atsei suggests.

The others do an exited "Yeah!" Atsei crosses her arms, smirking slyly. "I warn you guys, Me and my roommate were born for Basketball."


	10. Chapter 10

**A Few Days Later…**

Mai and Atsei sit together in Mai's math class. It turns out that Atsei is an internet student and can take time off like Mai since their situations are so similar. Today they decided to spend some time at school for a change. After all, some new faces now and then don't hurt. At least, not most of the time. Atsei came dressed in her normal clothes instead of the school uniform since she didn't own one.

"So Atsei, is there anyone you like~?" Mai asks with a teasingly wavy voice on the last word. Atsei thinks hard about it, cracking a smile. "Come to think of it, there is this one guy who is pretty cute." Mai tilts her head slightly, very interested in who her friend might have a crush on. As long as it's not Naru. "Who's that? Do I know him?"

Atsei nods. "He works with us too." She seemed to live leaving hints. "Is it Naru?" Atsei shakes her head. "He's too stuck-up for me. And self-absorbed, not to mention rude." Mai smiles a bit more. Finally, someone her age who doesn't fall all over Kazuya. "Monk?" She guesses again. "No, too old." Atsei sips her green tea drink. "Lin?" Atsei gives her a 'Really?' look. "What did I just say?"

So that leaves…No way. Atsei, one of the toughest girls Mai knows, one who has been stabbed 30 times and acts like it never happened, thought _John _was cute. "John? Really?" Atsei does the peace sign while closing one beautiful, dark violet eye. "He's just so pure and adorable; it makes me want to fangirl on him." She admits, her volume lowering a little.

"I really thought you would be all over Naru though. So many girls are. It's kind of weird." Mai shares through a giggle. They chat a bit more about John and Naru before getting up to go to their next class.

**Later that same day…**

John and Monk sit at SPR, waiting for their friends to arrive so they could hang out and wait for a case. While John skimmed his bible Monk asked some casual questions. Like how he was, how the children at the church were, and stuff like that. But soon the questions change to something much more serious. Seriously embarrassing.

"What do you think of Atsei being on the team?" Monk asks; his signature smirk plastered to his calm face. John looks up and almost blushes. "She's a very nice girl and I'm glad she's working with us." His accent makes his words silly and cute. "She's pretty, don't you think? Monk presses a bit further, leaning forward from his seat and resting his elbows on his legs.

"Yes, Atsei is beautiful…" John smiles and thinks of her colored bangs, her deep eyes… Monk chuckles. "Sounds like someone's in love." John blushes, face going from smiling to surprise. Not to mention embarrassed. "N-No I'm not!" He denies. Monk laughs, his face turning slightly red. "John and Atsei, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!" He sings mockingly.

John covers his ears. He doesn't love Atsei. She's just a friend. A friend and a co-worker. That's all. Right? It's true that she's very pretty and helpful, not to mention friendly, tough, good with kids…He shakes his head. No. There's no way he could have a crush on her already. Could he…?


	11. Chapter 11

Once Atsei and Mai arrive at SPR they are greeted by an irritated Naru, an embarrassed John, and a laughing Monk. Upon seeing his friends Monk waves to them. "Hey Mai, Atsei." The second he says Atsei's name John jumps and turns around. "G-G'day mates." He says nervously. Mai greets her friends/co-workers and sits beside Monk, Atsei sitting beside John. He looks away, making her lean a bit closer. "Hey John, are you feeling alright?" She asks. "Yes, I'm fine." He stumbles, hoping she cant see his blush. Everything Monk said wouldn't leave his mind.

"Are you sure? You're all red." She feels his forehead which makes him get even redder, if that's even possible. Monk and Mai watch, smiling brightly at the budding romance in front of them. It's adorable how embarrassed John is. Naru looks up from his papers, seeming very annoyed. "If you are going to fool around, do it somewhere else." The room is silent for a minute, then everyone just sits in awkward quietness. It seems to last forever until the door opens and a two teenagers come in. They both have strawberry blonde hair. One is a boy and the other is a girl.

The boy is taller and had forest green eyes, wearing a leather jacket and worn jeans. The girl has pink eyes and wears a simple sundress. "Excuse us, this is Shibuya Psychic Research, right?" The girl asks. They all nod. "My name is Samantha Adams. This is my older brother. We would like to request an investigation of our home." The girl explains, putting her hands together. The boy waves his hand once in a greeting manner. "I'm Royu Adams." Naru motions to the seats by the table. "Please have a seat and tell me what is wrong."

Samantha and Royu. A Japanese name and an American name. Hm. They sit and face Naru. "We think our house is haunted." Samantha shares. "We'll hear knocking on the walls when the children are at the park, the doors will open and close by themselves, the furniture will shake, we get poked and pulled around when there's nothing there, and weird bruises have been appearing on the kids." Royu continues. Atsei frowns a bit. Two cases about children in a row. Naru makes a mental note of the occurrences he had just heard. "We will come to your home in a few days to investigate." The two teens smile and leave after thanking the team.

**Day 1.**

The house of the Adams Family was considerably bigger then the Corson's. It was almost a mansion. The house was elegant looking and expensive, making Atsei gape at the sight. Inside they are greeted by Samantha and Royu, surrounded by six children by Atsei's count. Two boys and four girls. "These are our little brothers and sisters. Alice, Abby, Deborah, Clover, Koji, and Kiel." Samantha introduces, motioning to each child.

Alice was a smaller child at four years of age, sitting nearby and playing with two dolls. She was wearing a cute dress that matched her long white hair and golden eyes. Abby was older and was at sic years of age, wearing a small sailor suit. She had long black hair tied back into two ponytails that compliment here bright blue eyes. Clover was a slightly younger child in a simple grey dress, giving her the look of an orphan with her short plum hair and darkened violet eyes. Deborah seemed like a fashion queen. She has long white hair and flashy orange eyes, dressed in an expensive and lacy dress.

The two boys stood together off to the side, Koji hiding behind his brother. Koji seemed timid. He had medium-length dark blue hair and navy eyes, dressed in a white dress shirt and grey shorts. Kiel has orange-red spiky hair and lively orange-brown eyes, dressed the most casual. He wore a simple grey jacket over a white tee-shirt and red sweats. The children were all so...cute. Mai and Atsei instantly start getting acquainted with the kids while Naru and Lin follow the two older siblings to the room they will use as base.

Soon the base is set up with the help of the children minus Koji, who watches from behind a wall. He was afraid of the newcomers. Atsei sets up the last camera and wipes her brow. "Here goes another case, although I only sense one spirit here. It doesn't seem very threatening...Oh well." She steps down from the step-ladder and turns, only to see Koji watching her from around the corner. "Miss...Are you going to take away my friend?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Your friend?" Atsei kneels down to his height. "Whose that?" Koji slides a bit more behind the corner but keeps looking at her. "Kimi." He says quietly. "Don't take Kimi away." Atsei gets the feeling he's talking about the spirit. Closing her eyes and concentrating on the spirit, she can sense a teenager that appears to have died due to a disease. That must be 'Kimi.' Maybe Kimi had befriended Koji and the other children? Standing up and ruffling the child's hair she goes to tell Naru what she believes. "I did some research on the previous owners of the house." He says in is calm way.

"Of course you did..." Atsei and Mai whisper at the same time. Naru ignores their little comments and continues on. "Before this family moved in a family by the name of Hitchi lived here. They had a thirteen year-old daughter who died of a disease." Atsei does a mental air fist. She was right on the mark. "I'm going to gather the children and ask them a few questions. Mai, you will come with." He instructs, starting to walk away. Mai growls and follows behind him, leaving Atsei by herself in the large living room. She slides down onto the couch and crosses her legs, hands on her ankles.

She thought. Thought about her new friends, thought about her family, and about...John, for some reason. She finds herself smiling at the memory of John's hair, eyes, and accent. He was adorable, that was for sure. So innocent and pure. Like a mountain stream. Atsei closes her eyes and keeps smiling at the thoughts. Maybe she should vacation to Australia sometime to see if there are more Johns there. If one John is cute, then a whole country full is...She giggles. What a silly thought. Her and the priest would never work out. They're too different.

Upon thinking that however, she opens her eyes and frowns. Why was she so doubtful? Why had her thoughts become to never-ish? What was it that made her say 'No, never'? John is everything she likes. Cute, nice, innocent, cheerful, strong, and honest. Despite these things something within her screamed that she could never love anyone. "...It must be them." She whispers to herself. Her parents. Had their suicide so thoroughly traumatized her that she never wanted to love anyone? No. Tat can't be. Just because they decided to shoot themselves shouldn't bug her that much.

Letting her head drop, she lets out a groan. Maybe she should get her brain removed so she doesn't fall into these self-inflicted depression swings.

-With John and Monk...-

The two guys hang out together in the park, just walking and talking. "Atsei." Monk randomly says. John twists around, face red. He thought Monk might have seen her coming or something. "Takigawa..." He groans. "Don't do that." Monk laughs. "You obviously like her John. Why not just tell her?" John goes to protest but bites his lip. It was true; he did like Atsei. After all, who wouldn't? "How would I do that...?" He asks quietly. No point in hiding it, the whole team should know by now. "Just do this." Monk says, stopping John and taking his hands out of his pockets.

"Say this first. Then add whatever you wanted to say." John swallows. He has the feeling this was gonna be awkward. "Atsei, I have to tell you something important." John sweat-drops. That's it? "That's all?" He asks. "Yeah. Its easy to say and then you can get right to the point." Monk smirks and keeps walking. John takes everything so seriously its funny. John takes a deep breath. So he'll say to her that he has something important to say, then that he likes her. A lot. Sounds easy, but something tells him that in the moment it will be much harder.


	13. Chapter 13

After a question-answer session with the children, Naru and Mai gather with Atsei and Lin in the base. "So far only Koji and Kiel know about Kimi." Mai shares, standing beside Atsei who was sitting on the floor. "Koji told me that Kimi is his friend and he thinks we're taking her away." She says sadly. "It's our job." Naru replies coldly. Atsei frowns some more. Why can't Naru even pretend to be nice? That's better than his self-absorbed narcissistic attitude.

"I'm calling John in to exorcise the spirit." Naru shares, turning to a monitor by Lin and watching for any noticeable movement. Atsei feels her heart speed up. John was coming now? Great. The more the merrier, they say. Besides hanging with John after this case may be what she needs to relax. A small part of her wants to tell John how she feels, but she's afraid of being rejected. She sighs. You never know until you try, as they say.

**Later…**

Atsei meets John outside of the Adams' house. To her surprise, the first thing he does is run up and places his hands on her shoulders. "Atsei," He starts nervously. "I have something to say to you." Her heart speeds up again. Was he going to say what she thinks he was going to say? "Okay, w-what is it?" She bites her lip and waits for an answer.

Before he can say anything Naru opens the front door and beckons the priest in. "John, come in." They both sigh, annoyed. "We'll talk after?" She asks hopefully. "Yes, of course. Pardon." He hurries into the house to conduct the exorcism. The time went by quickly after that. Kimi was exorcised, the equipment was packed up, and the team headed out.

"So John, what were you-" She is interrupted, this time by Mai. "Hi Atsei. Want me to walk you home?" Atsei growls, tapping her foot. The suspense was gonna kill her. "Alright Mai. See you later, John." She bids him farewell and walks alongside her brunette friend to her gruesome home.

"_Stupid interruptions…" _She thinks to herself. _"What was he gonna say?" _Shaking the thoughts away she waves to Mai and goes into her house. Cam wasn't home. Of course not; when is he ever home?

Nestling into the covers she covers her head with her pillow to block out the nausea and gunshots. Another day, another suicide recap. "I wish it all would just stop…" She whispers before falling into a light, restless, disturbed sleep surely full of fresh nightmares.

**(I know this one was shorter, but I promise there will be more. I am having some trouble juggling A New Ally and From the Dust at the same time, so please bear with me. Review, it takes like 30 seconds and really helps. No flames, no criticism. That's how it is.)**


	14. Chapter 14

A few weeks of interruptions is enough to drive someone crazy. First Naru, then Mai, then Monk, now Ayako. Every time John and Atsei try to get some time to talk something comes up. If one more person pops up between them, she'll punch 'em in the nose. Right now Atsei and John sit side-by-side on a bench in the park, watching the couples run together in the breeze with their flaunting romance. "There was a case we did in this park a while ago." John recalls with a smile. "There was a woman who was cheated on so she dumped water on all the couples in the park." Atsei laughs at that. "It's not funny, mate!" His face turns red.

"Sorry dude, but it is." He sort of pouts. "So, heard anything from Masako lately?" She asks although she didn't wanna know. Masako hasn't come into SPR at all ever since Atsei joined the team, not that anyone was really complaining. Maybe she was jealous that Atsei was so spot-on in her sensing. "I haven't seen her in a while." John answers. "Of course; I don't think anyone really has." Turning her head to the side Atsei groans with the most dead tone ever heard. Walking by was none other then the most stuck-up Japanese girl Atsei had ever met; Masako Hara herself.

Masako stops and faces them, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "Well then. On a date, are we?" She asks with her horrible mocking tone. John goes to say something but Atsei stops him by leaning on his shoulder and grabbing his hand. "Yes. Jealous much, pole-butt?" She mocks back. "Hardly. A professional like me wouldn't be caught dead on a date with John." That makes Atsei extremely angry. She stands up slowly, crossing her arms and glaring. "What's that supposed to mean? The only thing you're a professional in is giving people migraines."

"It means that John is below my level." Masako retorts harshly. "Hey, that's uncalled for..." John whispers. He was offended greatly. "Don't you worry babe, she's just jealous that _Naru _doesn't like her." Atsei reassures him, squeezing his hand and smiling. "I have been on multiple dates with Naru, for your information!" Masako yells, getting a bit more defensive and angry. "Ever stop to consider that he agrees to go because he has no choice? Knowing you, you'd make him uncomfortable with your heinous hatred of not getting your way." Atsei asks with a sly grin. This felt good; ranting to Masako herself about what a mean person she is.

Masako goes to argue bit bites her lip. Maybe that was true, but still...! "Come on John, we don't need this." Atsei pulls him up and walks away, still gripping his hand tightly and blushing slightly. "That was kind of harsh." John comments, squeezing her hand back. "I know. But someone had to do it." Atsei shrugs. "I wonder how long Mai was waiting for that." John cracks a smile. He agreed that Masako was pretty mean and deserved that. Making their way back to SPR that evening, still hand-in-hand, they are greeted by Mai and Monk who are sitting and talking.

Upon seeing that they were holding hands the two brunettes jump up to their feet. "You owe me five-hundred yen!" Mai remarks to Monk, who chuckles and hands her a coin. "I knew you two would figure it out. Take my advice John?" Monk asks slyly. Atsei and John's faces go beet-red but they don't let go of each other's hands. Sharing a glance they come to a conclusion. "John," Atsei starts. "Atsei," John continues. They face each other. "I've liked you for a while." Atsei goes on. "Me too." Mai and Monk watch with hearts replacing their eyes as they watch the budding love.

Right before they could share a red-faced embrace the door bursts open and Ayako comes in. "Hey kids- OWW!" She holds her now bleeding nose as Atsei holds up her clenched fist. "Damn it! Why cant anyone just let us do our thing!" She whisper/yells half angrily. Ayako gets a few tissues from Lin and holds it under her nose, mumbling something that wasn't understandable through the blood.

**(That's the end of Fic one! Tune in for sequels following Atsei's life as a proud member of Shibuya Psychic Research!)**


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